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“On your marks, get set, go!” Bruce yelled and you started to throw back the shots sitting in front of you. The vodka burned going down and you scrunched your nose in disgust. You heard Clint next to you, choking down his second to last shot and you quickly grabbed your last one, bringing it to your lips despite your body screaming out for you not to. You forced yourself to swallow before slamming the empty shot glass face down on top of the bar.
“Done!” You called out. Clint followed in suit and so did Tony shortly after. You tried to stand but sat back down when the room started to spin. You gripped your head between your hands, trying to get control of your vision. “Why did I just do that?” you said, suddenly realizing your mistake. You had all been drinking casually throughout the night, a few beers, a glass of wine, that sort of thing, so you were already slightly buzzed but this was going to push you over the edge. This was the kind of thing that would leave you absolutely wasted.
“Hey, hey Tony,” Clint said, nudging Tony’s arm with his elbow, his words already starting to slur. “Hey, I think (y/n) cheated. I think we could beat her if she doesn’t cheat. What do you say (y/n), do you wanna have another go?” You could feel the alcohol really beginning to hit you, starting with that familiar warm tingle that started in your cheeks and worked its way down your chest and into your stomach. You simply shook your head in response to Clint. “You’re just scared that we’re gonna beat you.” He mumbled. You started to shake your head again as the elevator let out a ‘ding’ and opened, letting Natasha, Steve, Thor, Pepper, and Loki out.
Loki. Your heart fluttered when you saw him and you turned away blushing, hoping that you just looked flushed from drinking. “What happened here?” Steve asked, referring to the increasingly drunken state of you, Clint, and Tony.
“Clint bet that he could beat Tony and (y/n) in a drinking contest.” Bruce said, chuckling slightly. “He didn’t. (Y/N) beat them both by a landslide. It was actually pretty funny to watch.” Pepper stepped towards the bar, the others following after her. She counted the five shot glasses sitting in front of each of you and asked what was in it.
“Vodka.” You said, pulling yourself to your feet. You held onto the bar for support while everybody watched you, obviously afraid that you were going to topple over. “God, this was a stupid idea.” You started to giggle and held onto the wall while you tried to make your way over to the couch. The giggles soon turned into uproarious laughter and you slowly slid down the wall into a sitting position to keep yourself from falling down.
“I fail to see the humor in this.” Thor said, a puzzled expression on his face.
You finally subdued your laughter and asked for help getting to the couch. Loki stepped forward and took your hand, pulling you to your feet and wrapping his arm tightly around your waist to support you. “Darling, I think you need to go to bed more than anything.” There were murmurs of agreement from the rest of the group and you finally let Loki lead you to the elevator. He took your right arm and pulled it over his shoulder, holding it in his right hand to help guide you. You had to stand on your tip-toes due to the height difference which only debilitated your balance so much that he was practically carrying you. The elevator stopped on your floor and he brought you inside, gently unloading you onto the couch. He made his way over to the kitchen behind you and returned with a glass of water. “Drink this, it’ll make you feel better.”
You wanted to argue that you were at the point where one glass of water would make little difference, but decided against it and drank it anyway. He took the now empty glass and set it on the end table. “So will you be okay then?” He asked. You nodded and he stood, turning towards the door. “Then I guess I’ll be going then. Good night.”
You reached forward and grabbed his hand pulling him in front of you. “Wait no, stay with me.” He glanced at the door. “Please.” You said, tugging on his hand.
“Are you sure?” He asked. You nodded eagerly and he sat down next to you. You rested your head on your shoulder, something that you never would’ve done while sober, and Loki let out a chuckle. “I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t get to see your competition against Clint and Tony. However, I was not at all surprised when Bruce said you won.”
You laughed and turned your head to meet his eyes. “When I first started working at S.H.I.E.L.D. Clint challenged me to a drinking contest and I whooped his ass so now he always tries to redeem himself. He never does though.” He laughed again at your bluntness. “What’s so funny?” You asked, not really understanding why he was laughing.
“It’s nothing darling, you’re just acting quite out of character.” He replied.
“Am I?” You asked, and he nodded. You gazed into his eyes and let the silence sober you slightly. When you had first heard of Loki a few years ago, you had never envisioned sitting on the couch with your head on his shoulder. No, you imagined that he would be sitting in a cell after what he did in New York. Yet here you were, staring into his beautiful blue eyes, thinking about how your feelings towards him were completely different than you originally thought. “Can I ask you a sort of serious question?” Your words were slurred but your mindset had changed, it was more serious.
“Of course.” He said softly.
You changed your position so you were sitting sideways on the couch, facing Loki with your legs Indian style. “Did you know that what happened in New York would go down the way it did?”
He stiffened but changed his position on the couch to match yours. “Only somewhat. I knew the Chitauri were to invade the city. I knew that they would cause destruction, but I assure you, I had no idea that they would kill so many civilians.”
You looked down at your hands in your lap and began to twiddle your thumbs. “I just wanted to know if you were a mass murderer or just like, a world dominator.” You laughed at your wording but couldn’t think of any other ways to describe it. You looked back up to him. “So is that why you’re helping out The Avenger’s? To repent or some shit like that?”
A wry smile came to his face. “That’s one reason, yes.”
“Yeah? What’s the other reason?”
“I’m not entirely sure I should say.” He laughed while rubbing the back of his neck.
“Oh come on,” You said, switching your position once more so your legs were underneath you. “You can’t bring it up and then not tell me.” You begged.
“How about this, I’ll tell you, but only if you tell me what you and Tony were talking about at the bowling alley last week.” You rolled your eyes.
You recalled the conversation that you had with Tony when you went bowling. Tony had confronted you about liking Loki and you had tried to lie but he definitely knew. “Are you really still on that?” You asked. He nodded and you let out a sigh. You stared at him and he scanned your face with his eyes.
The tension between the two of you grew as the silence rang on. You saw him glance towards your lips and then meet your eyes once more. Your face flushed and you looked back at your lap. He lightly grasped your chin, raising your face so you would look at him. “Please darling, I really want to know.” His eyes glimmered with hope and you bit your lip.
“Okay, so umm,” You let out an uncomfortable laugh. “I can’t believe I’m saying this but, uh, Tony came over to me while you were taking your turn and he said that he knew that I um,” You rubbed the back of your neck and let out a sigh. “God, I’m gonna regret this when I’m sober, but he said that he knew that I liked you.” Your face turned beet red and you turned your gaze down.
“Wait, what?” He said suddenly.
“I know it’s stupid and stuff but…” You started to say but he cut you off.
“No sweetheart, it’s not stupid at all.” He placed a hand on your cheek and you looked up at him again, your face redder than ever.
He was looking at you as if you were the whole world. ‘Fuck it.’ You thought, and slowly leaned in, placing your lips on his. He was most definitely surprised, but quickly brought his other hand up and cupped the back of your neck, pulling you closer. Your stomach fluttered and you felt a rush of relief that he hadn’t pushed you away. You brought your hands up and wound your fingers in his hair. The kiss was sweet, but not demanding in the slightest. You and Loki finally broke apart, catching your breath.
“I should go.” He whispered. You wanted to argue but he continued, “You’re still drunk, and I don’t want to take advantage.” You nodded and he stood before walking towards the elevator..
“What was it?” You asked, making him stop and turn around. “What was the other reason?”
He chuckled and a mischievous smile made its way across his face. “Isn’t it obvious? You were here.” You smiled at his response as he made his way to the elevator. “Good night, darling.”
You peeped out a ‘good night’ as the elevator doors slid shut, leaving you alone with your thoughts. You let out a laugh and leaned back on the couch, questioning the reality of what just happened. For months you had dreamed of Loki’s lips on yours and now that it had actually happened, it felt like a dream. You were completely ecstatic that he shared your feelings and couldn’t wipe the smile off your face. You pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and curled up with it, deciding that you were still too dizzy to walk to your room on your own.
The butterflies in your stomach died down once you were deep asleep, but Loki’s mind continued to race long into the night. He laid in bed for hours, replaying the events of the night in his head. Part of him was afraid that things would be different in the morning, that you had only kissed him because you were drunk. But another part of him was putting the pieces together. Of course he had hoped that you liked him, but he thought it would be far too presumptuous and foolish to believe that it would be true. He let out a sigh and rolled over, only falling asleep when the sun first peeked over the horizon.
You woke up with a nasty headache and let out a groan. After stumbling to the kitchen and taking an aspirin, you worked your way to the shower where you attempted to wash away your hangover. While you were washing your hair you suddenly remembered. Loki. You had kissed him last night. Your stomach dropped and you rushed to finish washing before throwing on some clothes and waiting impatiently for the elevator. When the doors opened, you were surprised to find Tony inside.
He had dark circles under his eyes and was definitely paying for last night. You let out a small, “Good morning,” to which he only groaned. “So you’re feeling pretty shitty too?” He nodded, leaning against the back of the elevator with his eyes closed. Something suddenly crossed his mind and his eyes flicked open.
“So what happened after Loki brought you back to your room last night?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.
You stared at the ground when you answered. “I don’t know what you mean.” You said sheepishly.
“Oh my god.” He said, stepping forward. “Something happened between the two of you!”
“What? No, of course not! He just took me upstairs and that was it.” You refused to meet his eyes, even as he stepped in front of you.
“You are a terrible liar. But I’ll drop it. I can just look at the security cameras later.” He said smugly. Your eyes widened and panic shot through you. “And if you have nothing to hide then there’ll be nothing for me to see.”
“Okay I’ll tell you, just please don’t watch the footage.” You took a deep breath and looked up at him. “We kissed,” He looked at you with shock. “But that was all!”
He whistled and raised his eyebrows. “Wow, I was starting to think it would never happen. Wait, who kissed who?” You face flushed and you looked away from him. “(Y/N), you sly dog.”
“Just stop talking about it.” You mumbled as the elevator came to a stop on the main floor. You stepped out before Tony and started looking for Loki who you found in the kitchen. “Hey,” you said as he turned around.
“Oh, hi.” He seemed hesitant and an uncomfortable silence filled the room.
“Can we talk? About last night?” He nodded, expecting you to say that it was a mistake and to pretend that it never happened. “I didn’t mean to come on too strong or anything and I’m sorry if I crossed a line.” Loki fought to hide a smile. “What’s funny?” You asked.
“I don’t know how clear your memory of last night is, but your advances were not at all unwanted. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised with the advancement in our relationship.” He said, a hint of mischief in his eyes.
You let out a nervous laugh. “Really?”
“Yes, really.” He stepped closer, closing the gap between you. “And I would really love if that would continue.” You nodded your agreement and he let a grin spread across his face. He cupped your cheek with his hand and leaned in, planting a sweet kiss on your lips. His other hand found it’s way to your waist, pulling you closer to him. He gently nipped at your lower lip, the kiss getting more heated.
“Well it’s about time.” Tony said, causing you to break apart. You let out a breathy laugh and turned your attention towards him. He was leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed and a huge smile across his face.
“Oh shut up.” You said, flashing him a grin. Tony rolled his eyes, but gave you and Loki privacy nonetheless.
“He’s not wrong, you know.” Loki said, leaning down and whispering in your ear. “It is about time.” You let out a laugh, but there was no denying it. You had waited a long time for this.